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Saturday, January 23, 2010

Ch-Ch-Changes...

Instant gratification? I got your instant gratification right here. Not long after I posted about all of the rules proposals, we've got results!

Before any of the proposals went to the entire DCI directorship, they first went to a caucus which determined whether or not they would be sent forward. The proposal for the 18 minutes of field time with the "free style" section was modified to fit within the current 17 minute framework; the overall effect judges, the seven judge panel, and the percussion judge in the press box were all halted in caucus. All other proposals went forth to be voted on by all 22 world class directors.

It was decided that the sound engineer in the sound booth was a procedural change, and as such, corps could do what they want. Expanded age eligibility was rejected, with the rationale that DCI is a youth activity. The change to the visual sheet was approved.

The proposal that formalizes the use of pre-show time was approved. Hopkins' proposal with the freestyle session ultimately won out, after much discussion at both the caucus and director levels. The thought was that this may harm corps who chose not to do a a "preshow", and the decision was made that corps who chose not to could stay off of the field until they saw fit to take it. It also looks like the floodgates are open for things like "illegal instruments"... it'll be interesting to see how this shapes out.

There were a couple more things enacted by the directors when the got together. I was always taught that direct quotes were for when you can't find a better way to say something yourself, and which these changes, I really can't, so I'll just present them directly from DCI.org:

"There were two other procedural changes that were approved by the voting membership after all the rules were voted upon. Post-show critiques, when corps staff members used to discuss their productions with the judging community on a periodic basis, have been replaced by more informal pre-show discussion opportunities with the judges.
Another change is that corps are now encouraged to send in synopses of their productions prior to the season. They will be shared with adjudicators so they can research the show concepts and listen to source music, allowing them to become familiar with the shows prior to the competitive season."

So there you have it. For rthis post most of all, but really all of the posts related to the rules, I would like to both thank and direct attention to Michael Boo and the fine folks at dci.org. I'm not a reporter, nor to I purport to be; hell, I'm not even a journalist, just a measly blogger. But dci.org was great at keeping me up to date with what was going on so I could in turn offer my opinions to all who chose to read them.

One more note that I happened to learn that came out of the winter meetings: Teal Sound was granted access to the World Class schedule! To be perfectly honest, after reading the news on dci.org and the corresponding release on the Teal Sound site, I'm not entirely sure whether that means they are now bona fide World Class or if it's similar to being a Division I-A transitional, but either way, they are at least on their way. They've always been an organizations I've enjoyed (this past year's show notwithstanding) so it's good to see them join the ranks. Congrats, Teal Sound!